


The Rusted Chain Shatters

by Lisalicious



Series: The Stone Emperor and the Forsaken Knight [3]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Emperor Hux, Angst, Kylo Ren Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-09 22:55:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8916307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisalicious/pseuds/Lisalicious
Summary: ...Hux turned to leave. Kylo, desperate, tried to reach out with the Force, something he'd not done in months. He tried to stop Hux, so he could plead some more, he needed him to hear. Then the dampers caused pain like something tearing his flesh from his bones, and he SCREAMED and collapsed...





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've added Kylo's POV to the story because...the story required it.

“I don’t understand.”

The words bounced around Kylo’s head, but he could not grasp onto the idea. _Your mother wishes to speak with you_ … It was the last thing he expected, the last thing he wanted. To face the woman who abandoned him time after time after time. What was she doing here? In his Emperor’s palace? Hux had mentioned being forced to make peace with the Resistance, but why would he ever stoop to that?

“The Resistance has been able to stop the Knights of Ren where the Empire has not.” Hux continued with his clinical business as usual voice. “We need their help to bring your former followers to justice. Your mother leads the Resistance. And she wants to speak with you.”

“Why does that mean: she wants to speak with me? Why does she get to make a request like that?  How does that help you accomplish peace?”

“She fears that my attempt at peace with her is a lie. She believes you would be able to dispel any of her worries.”

Kylo scowled at that. Once again they were using him as a means to their ends.

“And are you lying to her?”

“I would prefer not to tell you that specific detail.”

“Because you are, then. And you want me to lie for you.” Both were statements. “I’m telling you right now, she won’t buy it.”

Hux perked, looked almost pleased.

“Does that mean you’ll actually speak to her?”

“That’s not what I said. I said she won’t buy it. My lying to her for your sake won’t convince her to sign your treaty.”

“She said as much regarding you lying to her.”

“It's pointless. Even if she were to come down here so we could talk about what I did to her absentee husband and brother, it would accomplish nothing for you.”

“It might accomplish more than you think.”

“You also realize she had some form of hidden agenda, don't you. I could probably fish it out for you. Odds are she'd share a lot if I got her talking. I mean, it's been quite a few years. She probably wants to catch up after she yells her head off about how much of a disappointment I've become.”

“Are you serious because I'm sure she would come down to you, if you are?”

Kylo shrank back.

“NO!” He almost screamed, angrily. “You...you know I don’t...ever…” He instinctively wanted to hide away.  There was no hiding here, and if he was too bad he’d get strapped back in the thing.  So he tried to calm himself down because he ultimately wanted to please Hux. To please Hux, he would have to do something he didn’t want. He tentatively started to step back towards him. Maybe if he tried to do this...maybe his Emperor would stop shutting him out. Maybe if he offered obedience he could leave his glass cage. He averted his eyes and knelt down in front of him. “Would it please you if I did, M-master?”

Hux was slightly taken aback by Kylo’s sudden deference. A worried look crossed his face before he was able to school his features again.

“It would, Kylo.”

“If...if I do…” His voice wavered. He was afraid to voice his request to Hux on the chance that his Master would be offended. He wanted to be let out, wanted to...no, his Master would never allow him be free.  He didn’t need to be free, if he was able to be out, he would wear the collar and cuffs, he would allow himself to be chained, he would serve and obey the Emperor in whatever way he was ordered. “Please, Sir, I will do anything you ask of me if it meant we wouldn’t be separated anymore.”

“I don’t-”

“I will tell her anything you want. I will do anything. Whatever you want or need me to do.”

“But you don’t want to see her.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does. What you want matters.”

“No, only what you want matters. I see that now. I should never have been offended when you collared me, Master. My temper got the better of me. There...there is no excuse for my actions. I should never have expected that...never assumed that you...I should have known you would be displeased when I failed you. I should have known I would be punished as I was with my former masters. I should have realized my needs weren't important. Only you are important.” Kylo didn’t know when the tears started to fall, but he stopped for a second, choked back a sob before he could continue. “I...I understand, now, what you want and need from me. I will never make those mistakes again.”

Hux took a few steps back from the barrier between them.

“This is madness, the way you're talking.”

“Master, please!” He begged, frantic. “I only want to please you and be with you. I am yours to command. I will do anything you ask. If it's speaking to her, then fine. If it's lying naked at your feet, sucking you off whenever you say, fine. If it's always wearing these dampers to show that you alone own the Force in me...fine. But please, don't leave me here to rot. Please, Master.”

“Kylo, stop this! You shouldn’t be calling me that. I AM NOT YOUR MASTER!”

He looked up at Hux, stricken, not able to process what had just been yelled at him. His tears were running a steady stream down into his beard.

“I...I am y-y-yours to do with as you p-please. To c-command as you see f-fit. Your sl-slave. It's only right that I-”

“NO! No, it is not right. You are not my slave. I am not your master. This is not how any master should treat their subordinate. I...I...don't you see? You don't deserve what has been done to you. You have been used over and over...I have used you terribly and thrown the leftovers away. As I will most likely do to your mother's Resistance. I refuse to do any more to you, Kylo.”

Hux turned to leave. Kylo, desperate, tried to reach out with the Force, something he'd not done in months. He tried to stop Hux, so he could plead some more, he needed him to hear. Then the dampers caused pain like something tearing his flesh from his bones, and he SCREAMED and collapsed.

“HUX, NO, PLEASE!!!” He cried as the warning alarms started sounding. The ones that meant he'd been bad. The ones that meant he was getting strapped back into the thing.

But he couldn't stop screaming and crying as he pressed the side of his face into the floor.

Hux had left him.

***

The second the door to the Knight’s glass cage clanged shut Hux bent over and emptied his stomach on the floor. He wanted to blame the stench of the place, but with Kylo’s screams still audible through the supposedly soundproof door and walls his stomach gave another lurch.

He wasn’t sure what he had expected in regards to the man. Surely better treatment to say the least. Definitely not a break down to this extent, but then Hux had no idea just how isolated he had been. It did appear that Kylo was a permanent resident in that room, as was the torture device clearly left there to induce better behavior. And...he was emaciated. Kylo had never been thin, like Hux was, but he was muscled perfection. Now...Hux shuddered.

It was all his fault. He didn’t only fail the man. He DESTROYED him.

And the noise...the alarm that blared. He knew Kylo had done something to set if off.  Was his behavior being watched that closely? Or...was it something else? Had he tried to use the Force for some reason?

Hux righted himself. He’d only taken a few uneven steps when the guards came running. They went straight for the door he’d just come out of, his puddle of sick off to the side.

“WAIT!” He commanded as they passed him, barely acknowledging his presence.

They skidded to a stop, and tentatively turned towards the Emperor.

“Sorry, Sire. It is important we get him dealt with.” One of the guards addressed him.

“I know you have received orders on how to handle him, but my orders supersede any others. You are not to harm him. If you must do anything, sedate him. And by no means are you to strap him into that reconditioning chair.  I want it removed from his cell immediately.”

“But, Sire, he is a danger. His Force powers-”

“Are blocked by dampers he cannot remove.”

“But he’s killed other guards.”

“Recently? Because, from the looks of him, I don’t believe he’d be able to bruise me with a punch let alone land it. When’s the last time he’s eaten?”

“He eats when he’s deemed worthy of food.”

“BY WHO’S STANDARDS? Because he looks like a stiff breeze could knock him down.”

“He’s being treated as all high profile prisoners have been treated, Sire, First Order and Empire alike. We were never informed that we should treat him any differently.”

Hux nearly vomited again.  That explained a lot in regards to the Knights treatment. Hux knew that high profile prisoners were placed in situations designed to break them, and get them talking. They were rarely kept for longer than a week.  They were simply used to their desired purpose and disposed of after the fact.  Kylo had been stuck in that hell for six months.

“Calm him. Sedate him if you must.  Get him food and drink. Make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. Then await more orders. They will be delivered through Captain Phasma.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor started off again.  He flinched when the guards opened the door to the Knight’s cell. The man was still screaming his head off, a mix of ‘Hux please!’ ‘I’m sorry!’ and ‘Don’t put me back in the thing! I swear I’ll be good!’  He shuddered and took off at a run.

He slowed his steps as the Captain fell in beside him.

“Did he agree to meet with her, Sire?”

“You know bloody well he didn't. You heard the alarms. It's a wonder the whole palace didn't.”

“It’s as I expected, Sire. He will be dealt with presently.”

Hux stopped dead and glared at the Captain of his Imperial Guard and Security Staff.

“Yes, he will be dealt with, but not in the way you mean. I have ordered the men you sent to ‘deal’ with Kylo to sedate him at most, and feed him. What in the Galaxy were you thinking, having treated him that way?”

Phasma regarded him deliberately. As if she were confused by his anger.

“He betrayed you, Sire, and he threatened to kill you. Would you expect me to have treated him differently?”

“I…” Hux swallowed thickly. “He…” Then his own tears started to fall. “I provoked him.”

“Today? That doesn’t matter.”

“No, Phasma. He never betrayed me. He did everything I asked him to. And I…”

She cocked her head to the side, concerned, and carefully gripped his arm.

“But...you never said a word…”

“I meant to kill him that night. And I couldn’t.”

“Sire, perhaps you are feeling guilty over his treatment, that you are making excuses because of his current condition.”

“No, Phasma. I seduced him. I brought him into my bed. I put enough effort into the relationship that I made him utterly loyal to me...so he would destroy Snoke and the Jedi, and put me on the Emperor’s throne. That night, I made sure he was more or less incapacitated when I got the collar around his neck. That's when he started to fight. It is my fault. And he has been rotting down here because I couldn't…And now, I can't even…” He looked down at the door that concealed Kylo in his glass cage. At that moment a scream loud enough to get through the sound proofing came from the room. Both Hux and Phasma shuddered. “I need him gone.”

“Sire?”

“Knowing... knowing what I have done to him...I can't. Not with him down here. Not when I know what he had to endure.”

“What would you have me do with him?”

She sounded apprehensive of what the answer might be, knowing she would have trouble killing the man if that was what the Emperor asked of her. She dropped her hand from his arm.

“Prepare him for transfer.”

“Transfer? I don't understand.”

“Prisoner transfer.” He sighed and turned away from her. “General Organa is his mother. Surely she will not be able to ruin him more than I already have.”

With that, Hux left Phasma where she stood, shocked and confused.

He rushed through his palace to where he knew the guest quarters were. Normally he would have gone back to his own rooms, returned himself to his stately Imperial self. But he was too shaken up by his meeting with Kylo. He couldn’t settle himself enough to care enough about his appearance. Damn the cape. Damn the coat with golden buttons and braids. Damn the ornate crown. How could he wear those while the one who gave them to him was locked away, half starved, tortured, and completely broken?

When he got to the door he knew belonged to General Organa he didn’t bother to knock. He was Emperor, it was his palace, and he could go wherever he pleased. Not to mention he was in absolutely no mood to stand on ceremony.

“Emperor Hux, what is the meaning of this intrusion!?” Major Ematt growled as he entered the sitting room.

Of course she would be conferring with her advisors. No matter. They would hear of this soon as he left anyways.

“Major. Admiral, General Organa.” He nodded to both men, and bowed slightly to her. “I am aware this is unusual, but I cannot wait for you to answer whether or not you would head my summons.”

“Now you listen here you puffed up little brat-”

“Major.” The General said with warning in her voice. “Let’s hear what the Emperor has to say.” Then she turned to face the Emperor fully. “I take it you saw him?”

Hux swallowed and nodded. He realized he hadn’t even bothered to wipe the tears from his face.

“And?” She asked when he didn’t voice a reply beyond his nod.

“I am sorry, General, but he is in no state to receive you as a visitor.”

“I expected as much...Then why are you here?”

“Our peace treaty. I know you are worried about my honesty, but I am asking you to trust me.”

“I assume you have something that will convince us of your integrity.”

“You, at least, General.”

“Well?”

“I will meet any demand you make of the Empire.”

They were all silent, stunned.

“You...you want us to...believe...that?” Admiral Statura was the one to break the silence.

“Any demand you make...I only have one demand of my own.”

“There it is!” Major Ematt said acerbically. “Just what is your demand, Your Majesty?”

“That I transfer high profile prisoner Kylo Ren into the custody of the Resistance.”

***

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the guards had given him the injection.  It might have been hours. It might have been days. He had struggled, fought, kicked, and scratched with all he had in him, but as soon as he felt the bite of the needle sinking into his thigh he knew he was finished. He had expected them to strap him into the thing as soon as his body went limp, but when his eyes opened again he’d been placed on his cot.

Not long later his nose registered the scent of something edible. That’s when his eyes found the plate. What surprised him the most about it was the fact that it wasn’t just a protein bar. There was some form of meat with vegetables and a roll and a jug of clean water. It made his stomach ache with hunger just looking at it, but he didn’t trust it. He was certain it was poisoned. Certain that it was meant to be his last meal. That they were putting him out of his misery.

Because that’s all he felt at the moment. Misery. The pain from his struggle with the guards didn’t even register. The only pain that registered was the one in his heart. Hux...had left him. Kylo had offered him everything. EVERYTHING. And Hux refused him. Turned down EVERYTHING. Then left.

Hux left him.

He hadn’t moved from the cot since he awoke from the sedatives save to relieve himself and occasionally eat some food when he couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t wipe the tears falling from his eyes or the snot from his nose. He just laid there and waited for the end to come. Any end to come.

He barely noticed when the guards returned. The thing that caught his eye was Phasma accompanied them. The chinking noise told him that she brought binders and chains with her. This was it. They were going to take him out of his glass cage. He could only come up with one reason why.  Why they hadn’t strapped him back in the thing. Why they had brought him a real meal with clean water. Why they were chaining his hands and feet together, making him stand, leading him out of the glass cage.

He was going to be executed.

And without Hux...he found he didn’t care.

Phasma was saying things to him, but he didn’t hear a word she said to him. He couldn’t hear anything outside of his own bare feet smacking on the duracrete floor. A death march. He wondered to himself if Hux would actually do the act himself. If not, who the Emperor’s executioner might be. He supposed it wasn’t Phasma, it didn’t make sense to have the executioner escort him to the chopping block.

He wondered where the deed would be done. It would probably be publicly, or at the very least televised over the holonet for the entire Galaxy to see. Perhaps this would get the Knights of Ren to fall in line finally when they saw what had become of him and how he would die at the whim of the Emperor.

As they continued on from the dungeons and through the palace Kylo found that he recognized his surroundings. He could see flashes of a young boy with pale skin and black curls running the halls, playing a hiding game while the golden droid ran around after him, waiting for his mother as she met with the head of the Republic Senate. Or when the Senate was located on Chandrila for a few years. He remembered the lonely boy he had once been so many years ago and wondered if this was the beginning of his life flashing before his eyes, and he got lost in his otherwise long forgotten memories.

When he became aware of his surroundings again he was extremely confused. They lead him out to one of the landing platforms. That was a strange place for an execution to happen. He expected it to be done somewhere more glamorous for Hux. There were no holorecorders that he could see, and the crowd was small, too small.  

Then he saw Hux with a group of people. He was dressed impeccably, beautiful from the gleaming jeweled crown, the blood red cape, the dress whites adorned with gold buttons and silk braids, down to his gleaming black boots. Being Emperor agreed so well with him. His gaze turned from those he was addressing and met Kylo’s momentarily. Hux squared his shoulders and schooled any emotion from his face. The knight didn’t notice he’d stopped walking, didn’t notice he’d stopped breathing, didn’t notice the tears that once again started to fall down his cheeks. His heart clenched with an overwhelming longing. Then he was jerked back into motion by Phasma.

That’s when he noticed the people surrounding his beloved Emperor. He recognized Mitaka right away, and the old man dressed in First Order Tribunal Judge robes. Then his eyes moved on to the other three. The dark haired one he didn’t recognize had the rank marking of Admiral on his uniform. Next was Caluan Ematt, much older than Kylo remembered. And then...his mother. She was smaller than he remembered, her hair was going grey. He tried to look away before she caught his gaze, but she caught his eyes and hers widened with horror at the sight of him.

Then he saw the guards in Resistance uniforms as they came towards him from the shuttle that stood on the landing pad. NO! He turned his attention back to Hux and his mother. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he saw the Emperor hand her a small box. NO! He stopped short, even though he was being pulled along.

“You...you sold me to her? After you told me I didn’t have to see her if I didn’t want to?” The Emperor seemed to not hear him. “Hux? Hux, please don’t do this!?”

Kylo struggled against the guards pulling him along.

“Kylo, please don’t fight.” Phasma said in his ear. “This will go easier if you-”

“NO! NO HUX! I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE YOU!  PLEASE!” Hux continued to feign his inability to hear Kylo. “I...PLEASE! HUX! I’LL DO ANYTHING! PLEASE! I’LL STAY IN THE CAGE! I’LL LET THEM STRAP ME IN THE THING ONCE A WEEK! I’M YOURS TO DO WITH AS YOU PLEASE! DON’T SEND ME WITH HER!”  
  
“Kylo, we don’t want to have to sedate you again.” Phasma said, keeping her voice even though she had started to struggle against Kylo’s fighting along with the other guards.

“PLEASE!! PLEASE HUX! SHE ABANDONED ME BEFORE! SHE’LL DO IT AGAIN! I DON’T WANT TO GO! PLEASE!!! DON’T MAKE ME LEAVE!!!! I’LL DO ANYTHING!” He fell to his knees and began to sob. “P-please don’t do this! I want to st-stay!”

“Kylo, you don’t have a choice in this.”

“P-please! Sh-she’ll put me in a cage just like the one I have here. I want to be here! I want to be with you! I l LOVE YOU! I WANT to be here! IWANTTOBEHEREDON’TMAKEMELEAVE!!! HUX PLEASE!!”

The Emperor finally looked over at the spectacle, but his face was, as ever, emotionless.

“He’s yours to deal with now.” His voice was set, stern. “Contact me when you have come to your final terms, and we shall set up a public broadcast of the treaty signing.  Good day to you, General Organa. Major. Admiral.”

And with that he turned and strode back to the castle, not sparing Kylo another look.

“HUX? NO! PLEASE! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAASSSSSEEEEEEE!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

But the Emperor was gone.

Kylo collapsed to the duracrete and sobbed as the Resistance guards took over, and they pulled him onto the shuttle.


End file.
